Ms Helen Faughnan:

This came up when the HAP was being legislated for, and there was a lot of discussion on this issue in both Houses of the Oireachtas. Our understanding is that people can go on a transfer list within the social housing sphere. HAP is seen as meeting a person’s housing need but there is a facility for people to go onto a transfer list. We have come across cases of people who prefer to be in private rented accommodation, mainly because of the area they live in. There are two sides to the coin. That is our understanding of the housing transfer list.

If people are in receipt of rent supplement, the payments are made to the landlords who provide the accommodation for the State-supported tenants. What the landlords do then with the money is up to them. Ideally, we would like to see them using the money to assist with their mortgages on the properties. There is no compunction on the landlord. Rent supplement is not paid with a tag saying the landlord must use the money to pay the mortgage, although I am sure that if the banks are pursuing the landlord for non-payment of the mortgage, they could be aware that the person is in receipt of rent supplement, if it is a rented property. The landlord is paid to provide the accommodation and that is the deal.